Capture The Moment
by FrenchCirce
Summary: This birthday party was a moment she wanted to capture. A little fluffy oneshot for the twins' anniversary.


_Here is another little gift for the twin's birthday (yes, we're on September the 19th!). Enjoy some fluff, it is on me today ;)_

 _Once again if you want to celebrate some more, check Ghosthunthq on tumblr for fic recs, stories and_ _fan art!_

 _ **I don't own Ghost Hunt.**_

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Luella watched with fondness as Gene blew out the candles on the birthday cake. The flickering light of the little flames dancing in his gleeful eyes slowly vanished, replaced by a greyish smoke forming a misty halo around his head.

The air filled with the prickly scent of celebration and happiness, and Luella inhaled contentedly as the characteristic sound of the polaroid announced Martin had captured the moment.

"I got them all!" announced Gene triumphantly, "My wish will come true!"

"You did," acquiesced Martin with an indulgent smile, shaking the picture carefully between his thumb and index to get it dry.

"You are thirteen," deadpanned his brother, "you should have stopped believing in such absurdities by now."

Gene cast his twin an annoyed look.

"It isn't ' _absurdities_ ' Noll, it is tradition. And it is _fun_. You should try for once," he replied, eyeing the plain fruit tart in front in his brother distastefully. "And couldn't you indulge in chocolate cake for your birthday?"

"No. Lin specified my diet should be strictly vegetarian."

"Even Lin eats eggs, I feel bad for mum baking you something this boring. You could have let her add the candles at least."

"Candles have no influence on the taste," remarked Noll, "besides the smoke…"

"I was perfectly content to bake it, apple tart is also my favorite," interrupted Luella to stop the upcoming bickering.

She knew far too well the boys' dynamics by now: Gene would tease his brother relentlessly while Noll would oppose with endless logical arguments. It was fine most of the time, but this was their birthday party, and she didn't want the happy mood spoiled by inane arguments.

"Moreover, Noll has the right to chose how he wants his birthday celebrated. Same goes for you, Gene."

"Idiot scientist, " murmured the older twin in retaliation to his brother's smug expression.

The candles have gone cold, and the lingering scent of smoke was dissipating slowly. Luella suppressed a sigh at the sight of Oliver's ordinary pie. In all honesty she had had to hide her disappointment the day he had stated his disinterest in adorning birthday cakes with useless additions such as candles. In truth, she felt that the boys were growing too fast, and ripping the party of its childish decorum was a biting reminder that her sons would leave her all too soon.

She took comfort in the fact that Gene enjoyed the extravagance which went together with special occasions. And while she understood the necessity of Noll's new diet, she was secretly glad she could bake fancy things for his brother. Because of their shared passion, she always took extra care to garnish Gene's cake and wrap his presents in the most flamboyant fashion.

Speaking of gifts, Gene's attention was now directed to the table in the living room where neatly wrapped presents laid, waiting to be opened. He was squirming in his chair, impatient to discover what his parents had packed under the brightly-coloured paper. Luella finally took pity on him.

"Why don't you open your presents while I serve the dessert?"

The proposition was accepted with much enthusiasm on Gene's part, who almost jumped off his chair to run to the living room. Noll nodded and followed his twin calmly, his face impassive. But Luella didn't miss the flicker of interest in his eyes, betraying his anticipation.

She glanced at her husband, who was watching his sons with an amused smile. He was the one who had chosen Oliver's present, and she knew he was looking forward to seeing the boy's reaction, however small it may be.

Gene eagerly picked a present and frowned when he saw that it was addressed to Noll. He shoved it into his brother's hands and dived again into the little pile of boxes.

"The blue ones are from Lin," Luella specified, setting a piece of cake on a plate.

The man had stopped by earlier in the morning to deliver his presents. While they hadn't expected any from him, Luella hadn't been entirely surprised by the gesture. Despite his apparent coldness Lin had a soft heart, and after all these months teaching Noll and spending time with the family he had come to love the boys as well.

Oliver carefully unwrapped the paper to reveal a luxury case in which laid a black pen. He took it with appreciation and pocketed it.

Gene, who had received the same gift, chuckled.

"A pen. Typical Lin!"

"It is a useful accessory," remarked his brother.

Luella smirked. That was the Nollesque way of expressing satisfaction.

She sat the last piece of dessert on its plate. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gene ripping gift-paper with gusto and marvelled for the umpteenth time at the difference of character between her sons. They were carbon-copies on the outside but their personalities were so dissimilar it was almost laughable.

"Woah!" exclaimed Gene when he discovered an expensive camera under the layers of red and gold paper. "Mum, Dad, how did you guess? Thank you!"

Luella exchanged an amused look with her husband. Gene had been less than subtle about his wish to possess a camera, rambling all day long about the comparative merits of camera brands or the different sorts of film rolls you could find.

"I _really_ don't know," she replied with a roll of her eyes, "maybe I'm a psychic after all!" she laughed, proud of her joke.

That only generated a concert of groans from her audience.

"Finish opening your presents, and then come back to eat your dessert!" said Martin, coughing to hide his smile at his wife's attempt at humour as well as to get the boys' attention.

Luella grinned, knowing Martin was only attempting to hurry Oliver. Her husband was impatient to see his son's reaction to his gift.

"Hurry up!" whined Gene. "I've finished opening mine, and I am hungry!"

Oliver said nothing but unwrapped his last present with infuriating slowness, in what Luella strongly suspected to be an attempt to annoy his twin. She understood the boys were communicating silently when Gene uttered an offended "hey!" and stuck his tongue out to his brother, to which Noll responded by ignoring the display of immaturity and continued opening the gift.

When he took notice of what was under the gift-paper Oliver stopped and looked at his father questioningly.

"I hope you like this notebook. Your mother and I thought it could be of use," Martin paused for effect and added proudly, "especially since in a few months you'll join the new SPR Field Work unit."

"Noll!" cheered Gene. "Congrats, finally you'll be able to ghost hunt!"

For once Oliver didn't chastise his brother about the use of the despised expression of 'ghost hunting' (he prefered 'scientific investigation of unexplained phenomena'), instead he nodded to his father, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Thank you," he said as he reached for the pen in his pocket and attached it to the black leather notebook in satisfaction.

"Time to eat now!" said Gene while dashing to the table, almost shoving his brother down in the process.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of laughter and bickering, warmed by hot cocoa, black tea, and birthday cake. Luella stopped clearing the table to contemplate her little family. Martin and Noll were engrossed in a discussion about parapsychology, Gene had figured out how to use his new 'toy' and was trying to convince his brother to go out with him to take pictures. She felt peaceful and content

When she came back from the kitchen a minute or so later she found Gene with his coat on and a resigned-looking Noll following him.

"Are you going outside?" she asked.

"Yes, I want to test the camera!" confirmed Gene with unbridled enthusiasm.

"You know, I think your first picture should be one of you and Noll. It is your birthday, don't you want to keep a memento?"

Gene pondered for a second and agreed with a grin, handing the camera to his mother.

"You're right Mum. Noll, let's take a picture!"

The younger twin let an exasperated sigh out but complied nonetheless, posing with his brother.

Luella held the camera and stared at the scene through the lens. Two identical boys were standing, one smiling and one staring blankly at the camera.

Her sons, on their thirteenth birthday.

With a click the picture was taken, capturing the moment on a film roll, ready to be developed.

But Luella didn't need the paper copy. She had captured the moment in her heart.

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 _I almost forgot, thanks to the rest of the GHHQ team for the editing and the helpful suggestions!_

 _I hope you enjoyed this snippet :)_


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